Definitions

 As I hold Noah in my arms (well he was in my arms until I decided to start writing) and now he’s laying in my lap on a pillow, I am just reminded of a few things.  One is how incredibly blessed my life is, and now more so with Noah.  I thought having a baby with Down syndrome would not be considered a blessing, but I realize now that my definition of blessed and God’s definition of blessed can be totally off!  

I was reading Leviticus 26 this morning and it was basically summed up in the following passage: 

“But if after these things you will not obey Me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭18‬ ‭‬‬

And I realized that the world’s definition of “love” or a “loving Go are not God’s definition, and what actually matters is His definition.  God requires obedience from us, but that word doesn’t seem to register freedom in our culture, in fact it seems to represent enslavement.  We don’t like to be obedient because it means we have to follow orders, but what’s wrong with order?  Absolutely nothing unless you’ve been conditioned to believe you somehow have the ability to order things.  The moment you think you know how to put things in order (whether in your life or in the lives of others) is the moment you become a monster because that kind of power only belongs to God or a monster.  And none of us is God.  

So, these definitions are vital to our lives and our ability to live a good life, because that’s what we all want, isn’t it? 

Definitions for blessing, curse, loving, unloving—these are all found in God’s word.  

God says that obedience is our sure sign of love for Him and others…and it makes sense!  God commands us to live and be in such a way that is best for others and for ourselves.  God knows what gives all of us ORDER.  So when we choose to obey Him we are essentially saying “God, you are God and only You how best to work my life in ways that not only benefit others but more so benefits me!  So, I will do what You say because Your way is right.”  That’s obedience and that is love because it leads us to live well.  

“This is how we know that we love God’s children when we love God and obey His commands. For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭HCSB

It says His commands are not a burden because the logic continues that ahi’s way is beneficial for us!  It’s not like we are doing Him a favor by obeying, but we are doing ourselves a favor!  We can’t forget that when we think of the definition of obedience. 

Although obedience is not always easy because it’s usually not comfortable to our plans, physical conditions, ideals, moods, and whatever else— we have to choose whether or not it is worth it to have some suffering for the sake of obedience to God.  Again, we can’t forget that ultimately our obedience is for our best life, so suffering is something we go through but it is not the end of our obedience.  The end is that we get to obtain the most perfect kind of life as God designed for us to live.  

A good question to constantly ask God is “what do You want me to do now?” Making ourselves flexible to sudden changes of plans, interruptions to our “work”, and possibly stepping into discomfort for the sake of obeying God is always well worth it because we are investing in having a life of perfect order under the Kingship of God.  

When you get a taste and see what I mean your definitions will change too.